June is over! June is, of course, better known to many Nature lovers as '30 Days Wild'!
This is my 9th year taking part in the Wildlife Trust's annual wild activity challenge, and it's a double-edged sword for me. As someone who is very in tune with our natural world, every day of my life includes a suggested activity from The Wildlife Trusts (feeding the birds, planting seeds, having lunch outdoors and many other things). So I either have to get creative...or be extra conscious that what may be a normal, everyday action for me may not be for others, and I can still photograph it to include for 30 Days Wild.
This is Week 4.
See Week 1 here > 30 Days Wild 2025 // Week 1
See Week 2 here > 30 Days Wild 2025 // Week 2
See Week 3 here > 30 Days Wild 2025 // Week 3
22nd June - Day 22
A 'boring' photo day as we had lots to prepare for our trip away tomorrow.
Still exciting though, because all new life in the garden is something to celebrate.
23rd June - Day 23
Back to our happy place <3
This will be Baker's last holiday, so we had to go back to the place where he had his first.
We swam in the sea under the Gannets, sat by the fire and made toast, and slept all together in the tent as the rain pelted down all night.
24th June - Day 24
Waking up in the rainy morning, I noticed a little face watching us pack up camp...a gorgeous deer!
We then stopped by Wigtown and while Mr H popped into a bookshop, Baker and I had a little wander around their lovely little park.
Our plan for the day was to drive down to Eskdale in Cumbria before heading home to get some photos of Baker in the place that shares my Maiden name. It's a special name to me, and even changed my middle name to Eskdale so as not to lose it from my identity when changing my surname.
Unfortunately, the trip didn't go as planned. I was incredibly car sick, the roads were stressful with people who apparently don't know how to drive on country roads, and there were no signs saying 'Eskdale' like there were for other villages; we really wished we hadn't bothered going.
As we were leaving, we spotted the sign above and jumped out of the car again to grab a quick snap of what was our whole reason for the long trip, and finally headed home.
25th June - Day 25
Caterpillar season has started at Hallow Manor!!!! Woo!
It's hard to believe I have/had(?) a phobia of moths and butterflies because now I relish in the fact that they chose our garden to lay their eggs. We will see if this year turns out to be as busy as last year was...
26th June - Day 26
A full day. Emotional rollercoaster.
I had the privilege of being able to photograph the Ring-Necked Parakeet again this morning, this time much closer as I stood at my garden gate and got to watch it feed. It was alone this morning.
However, in the evening, we laid our beautiful fish Nyx to rest. She received the rights that all our pets do, except that rather than the cremation, Nyx was buried and had wildflower seeds planted on top of her.
27th June - Day 27
Updating my Nature journal was the spotlight of today's 30 Days Wild.
28th June - Day 28
I found a Ladybug in a precarious place today, so I offered my finger, and after it climbed aboard, I transferred it to our failed broccoli plant that has a whole buffet of aphids for it to eat! We now have a resident Ladybug haha.
29th June - Day 29
It's a mismatch of photos today; a progress photo of the clover we planted on the 2nd, The Pollinators bath bomb from Lush (of which proceeds go to Pesticide Action Network UK to fund their ongoing work tackling the problems caused by pesticides like glyphosate), some of the Butterfly eggs have hatched and I got to see the Moon tonight for the first time in quite a while!
30th June - Day 30!
The last day is finally here! Usually, it's bittersweet, but this year it is kind of a relief haha.
If you know anything about me, you know my life is already 10x more wild than the average Jo, so trying to do extra stuff as well as photograph it all can be exhausting. I'd say this is my last year taking part, but the completionist part of myself can't stop 9 years in. Maybe 10.
Today we did some garden work, and I made sure (as always) to focus on the details. The creatures, big and small, that enjoy my garden make me so happy.
Phew!!! Thank goodness that is all done and dusted now haha.
This is Week 4.
See Week 1 here > 30 Days Wild 2025 // Week 1
See Week 2 here > 30 Days Wild 2025 // Week 2
See Week 3 here > 30 Days Wild 2025 // Week 3
22nd June - Day 22
A 'boring' photo day as we had lots to prepare for our trip away tomorrow.
Still exciting though, because all new life in the garden is something to celebrate.
23rd June - Day 23
Back to our happy place <3
This will be Baker's last holiday, so we had to go back to the place where he had his first.
We swam in the sea under the Gannets, sat by the fire and made toast, and slept all together in the tent as the rain pelted down all night.
24th June - Day 24
Waking up in the rainy morning, I noticed a little face watching us pack up camp...a gorgeous deer!
We then stopped by Wigtown and while Mr H popped into a bookshop, Baker and I had a little wander around their lovely little park.
Our plan for the day was to drive down to Eskdale in Cumbria before heading home to get some photos of Baker in the place that shares my Maiden name. It's a special name to me, and even changed my middle name to Eskdale so as not to lose it from my identity when changing my surname.
Unfortunately, the trip didn't go as planned. I was incredibly car sick, the roads were stressful with people who apparently don't know how to drive on country roads, and there were no signs saying 'Eskdale' like there were for other villages; we really wished we hadn't bothered going.
As we were leaving, we spotted the sign above and jumped out of the car again to grab a quick snap of what was our whole reason for the long trip, and finally headed home.
25th June - Day 25
Caterpillar season has started at Hallow Manor!!!! Woo!
It's hard to believe I have/had(?) a phobia of moths and butterflies because now I relish in the fact that they chose our garden to lay their eggs. We will see if this year turns out to be as busy as last year was...
26th June - Day 26
A full day. Emotional rollercoaster.
I had the privilege of being able to photograph the Ring-Necked Parakeet again this morning, this time much closer as I stood at my garden gate and got to watch it feed. It was alone this morning.
However, in the evening, we laid our beautiful fish Nyx to rest. She received the rights that all our pets do, except that rather than the cremation, Nyx was buried and had wildflower seeds planted on top of her.
27th June - Day 27
Updating my Nature journal was the spotlight of today's 30 Days Wild.
28th June - Day 28
I found a Ladybug in a precarious place today, so I offered my finger, and after it climbed aboard, I transferred it to our failed broccoli plant that has a whole buffet of aphids for it to eat! We now have a resident Ladybug haha.
29th June - Day 29
It's a mismatch of photos today; a progress photo of the clover we planted on the 2nd, The Pollinators bath bomb from Lush (of which proceeds go to Pesticide Action Network UK to fund their ongoing work tackling the problems caused by pesticides like glyphosate), some of the Butterfly eggs have hatched and I got to see the Moon tonight for the first time in quite a while!
30th June - Day 30!
The last day is finally here! Usually, it's bittersweet, but this year it is kind of a relief haha.
If you know anything about me, you know my life is already 10x more wild than the average Jo, so trying to do extra stuff as well as photograph it all can be exhausting. I'd say this is my last year taking part, but the completionist part of myself can't stop 9 years in. Maybe 10.
Today we did some garden work, and I made sure (as always) to focus on the details. The creatures, big and small, that enjoy my garden make me so happy.
Phew!!! Thank goodness that is all done and dusted now haha.
